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In January growth in retail inventories slows

Retail Inventories Economic Indicators



The build up in inventories continues to grow but on the slower pace, mainly because of shrinking inventories at general merchandise stores by -1.1 %.
Retail Inventories inched up 0.4 % in January, to $804 billions from $801 billions, lifting inventory to sales ratio to 1.33 from 1.31 in previous month, above recent average, indicating slowing demand and possible decline in industrial production on the seasonally adjusted basis, reported by the Commerce Department. The build up in inventories was led by building materials, food and apparel retailers.

Retail inventories is closely watched by investors and economists for signs of whether the consumer demand is growing or shrinking.
CPI Fuel Total retail Inventories excluding motor vehicle & parts rose by 0.28 % to $554,269 millions from $552,709 millions in Dec. 2023 and increased by